**Sky Reviews ~ Clutch ~ JA Huss**

**********************************

Clutch by JA Huss
I Am Just Junco #1
Release Date: October 1, 2012
Genre: New Adult Science Fiction
Source: My mom was gifted a copy
Rating: 5 Bookworms

Synopsis
How long can you lie to yourself before it all comes apart?

In 2152 the avian race is on Earth looking for something stolen from them decades ago – their genetics. At the center of the search lies the Rural Republic; a small backwards farming country with high hopes of military domination and a penchant for illegal bioengineering.

19 year old Junco Coot is the daughter of the Rural Republic’s ranking commander. She’s the most foul-mouthed, wildly unpredictable and ruthless sniper the Rural Republic has ever trained. But when her father’s death sparks a trip into forbidden places, she triggers events that will change everything she knows to be true.

As an elite avian military officer, Tier’s mission is to destroy the bioengineering projects, kill Commander Coot’s daughter, and return home immediately. There’s just one problem. Junco isn’t who she claims to be.

With no one to trust, not even herself, Junco must confront the secrets of her past and accept her place in the future, or risk losing herself completely.

CONTENT WARNING The I Am Just Junco series is NOT YOUNG ADULT. This series contains foul language and graphic violence.

***Sky's Review***

Hopefully everyone knows just how much my mom loves Ms. Huss’ books; I’m here to say that she is absolutely justified in her veneration. Having just trudged through Schindler’s List and The Bluest Eye for school, I desperately needed a break from the super deep, dark, and disturbing realms of literature, and picking up Clutch was the best decision I could have made. It was the perfect balance of action, mystery, suspense, adventure, and, romance for me, and it made me want to keep reading like a book hasn’t in over a year. I haven’t really made the time for independent reading for probably a year now, and it was so refreshing to have a book that I actually couldn’t put down. This book really brought the concept of reading for pleasure back into my life.

Junco Coot is such an exciting character, and she really keeps the story driving. There is a whole lot of mystery surrounding her and her family, which is made apparent from page one, and I have a feeling that we still don’t know everything. I admire Junco because she doesn’t let anything stop her, no matter how formidable the obstacle is. She’s been through much, much more than the average person could even imagine surviving -- although, of course, Junco is no ordinary human.

Tier is an alien of questionable motives, and he and Junco’s relationship is built off of hesitant trust and healthy skepticism from Junco. In the end, though, I suppose he was a “good guy;” he helped Junco out numerous times. I’m excited to see him develop in the next books. Beyond Tier, there was a whole cast of side characters which are woven well into Junco’s adventure. For the most part, they serve to enhance Junco’s journey of self-discovery -- and the majority of them factor into plot twists throughout the story.

Overall, the book was fast-paced and eloquently written, incorporating cool sci-fi elements and fascinating avian mythology to add the the many plot twists. Clutch was fun to read because Ms. Huss made it basically impossible to gather any sort of idea of what was going to happen next; any and all conceptions are proved incorrect time and time again. I join my mom as a member of the J.A. Huss fanclub and highly recommend her books, as reviews are insufficient to describe her incredible writing capabilities. As I said, this book was important for me, and I wish to share the experience with other readers.